Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-03-19
Tho Story OF Pocnhontas.

| but more spacious within, having q
| hole i'll the midst of the house for the
smoke to go out at. The kings houses
are both broader and longer than the
rest, having many dark windings and
turnings before any come where the
king is" In such a kings house must
the childhood of Pocahontas have been
| spent. In May, 1908, the colony hav-
ing in their custody some Indians who
had been detected in the act of steal
| ing, Powhatan sent his daughter,
child Of twelve or thirteen years, by
trusty messenger, with a present of a
deer and some bread, to Captain Smith
to ask for their liberty. This was Po-
| cahontas, OF whom the Governor writes,
(which not only for feature, counte-
nance and proport on, much exceedeth
the rest OF his people, but for wit and
spir is the only Nonpareil of his coun-
| try" She is made the bearer of her
| fathers assurances of love and good
will, and obtains the release of the In
| dians, we gave them to Pocahontas,
| the kings daughter, in regard of his
kindness in sending her." And they re-
| warded the little maid herself with
| such tritles as contented her"
In the January following, Captain
John Smith, then wellseasoned sol
| der of twenty-eight years, was captur-
ed while on an exploring expedition
| from jamestown. He was brought
prisoner before Powhatan, and when
| they W til clubs would have dashed ont
his brains. "Pocahontas, the kings
| dearest daughter, got his head in her
| arms, and laid her own upon his to
save him from death; whereat the En-
| peror was contented that he should live
to make him hatchets, and her bells,
beads and copper | can imagine |
see him using that brave right hand of
his that could go well WELD both sword
and pen in !ashioning tritles to please
| her childish fancy; and the little saw
age, with her great brown eyes filled
with wonder, listening to his stories Of
the white land beyond the sea. The
| English must have seemed to her to he
a nation of gods; what were Cakers and
| tiuio Ilascake compared to the great
folk of whom he told her? l think It
was then that the love and reverence
| she afterward showed for the English
took root in her heart. IT was well for
rocahontas that in those times of rude
license she learned first to know tho
nation she adopted through two such
noble, simple, and upright gentlemen
as Captain John Smith and John Rolfe
Had ether been less true or less hon
orable than lie was, how different might
have been the fate OF that little col
ony,
Captain Smith left jamestown to re-
turn to England on the 4th of Octo-
| Der, 1909, leaving four hundred men in
the colony. A terrible time followed.
| The savages no sooner understood that
Smith was gone than they all revolted
"and did spoile and murther all they
Encountered. The following winter
was known as the Starving time," and
one trouble and another reduced the
| little colony to sixty souls.
But where was Pocahontas with her
gifts of corn at this time? | can only
surmise that she had not the same trust
in the other members of the colony that
! she had in her friend. While he was
at the head of affairs none dared treat
her with other than the respect he OBJ
served. Her interest was not dead dur
ing the three years that "shee was
never scene at Jamestowne," but slum-
bering, ready to show itself more
strongly than ever.
On the 10th of May, 1911, there ar
rived at jamestown Sir Thomas Dale,
sent out by the Council and Com
panic" to take command of the colony.
With him were three ships, men, and
cattell," and on board Of one Of those
ships was Master John Rolfe, son, a.
we have seen, of Johannes kolfa Of
! Heacham. Grown to mans estg he
had caught the fever Of colisg atom,
which must have burned vei . .sfoely
in those days. Doubtless. through his
uncle, he had an interest in the cape
dition, and was, in all probability. mas
! ter on board one OF the ships which
conveyed the men, "cattell, aud other
/ provisions"
Powhatan was troublesome again to
the little colony in 1912, for in the
April of that year we find the English
| adopting ruse in order to compel him
| to make peace with them. Pocahontas
was enticed on board one OF the ships
| "Iapazaws, king of the Patawmeks, per-
swaded her to goe aboard with him and
! his wife to see the ship: for Cap. Ar
! gall had promised him Copper Kettle
! to bring her but to him. promising no.
way to hurt her, but keepe her till
! they could conclude peace with her
/ father" So Pocahontas was taken to
! jamestown, and messenger was sent
to Powhatan to say that he must ran
! som the daughter he loved so dearly
with "our men. swords, pieces, tools,
! &C., hee treacherously had stolne."
1t was while she was thus detained
! 10y the English that Pocahontas made
the acquaintance of Master John Role,
who taught her something more than
the truths of the Christian religion, for
lie taught her to love himself, as he
had already learned to love the brave
and noble Indian maiden. He after
ward acquainted Sir Thomas Dale
with his desire to wed her. and
she told it to her brother who
had come to see her. When
Powhatan hear of it he seemed pleased,
and "seut an old uncle of hers, and two
Of his sons to see the manner of the
marriage" which took place in the little
church at jamestown. l wonder
whether that is the bridal dress she is
wearing in the beautiful painting from
which the Heacham picture is taken!
This portrait of Pocahontas and her
little "dusky, supple-sinewed son" must
have been painted from life, doubtless
inst haf0ra aha waa fakan on hoard the